Mikel Arteta said the team is hurting just as much as the Arsenal fans after another run of poor results put their English Premier season in jeopardy.
However, if indeed the players are suffering as much as the fans have been over the past couple of months, there is no better time to put it right than against West Brom in the Premier League game at the Emirates Saturday.
"Arsenal in crisis" has been the byword for the club over the past few years as their trophyless spell stretches to eight years. While it might be easy to get on the "crisis" bandwagon, there is no denying the fact that this Arsenal team looks like they need to have a serious look at themselves.
Sitting in tenth, after only fetching 21 points from 15 games - easily the worst record in the Arsene Wenger era -- is unacceptable if you are at Arsenal, and the players need to take as much, if not more, of the blame as Wenger. West Brom are currently five points ahead of Arsenal in fifth.
On paper, the Arsenal team look like one of the best attacking units in the Premier League. However, that has not transformed onto the pitch this season. As much as Wenger might want to blame the 2-0 defeat to Swansea last weekend on tiredness, Arsenal's lack of cutting edge was apparent a lot earlier.
The only time they have looked convincing going forward was in the 5-2 win over Tottenham, and that was against ten men. Mikel Arteta, Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla have just not gelled.
That understanding is just not there in the midfield, which in turn has slowed down the pace of their attacks, and not allowed the likes of Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski to get into the game. The only time Arsenal have looked dangerous is when Theo Walcott, who will miss the game through injury, has torn down the right, using his pace.
Pace is the most important aspect of the game at Arsenal. If there is no urgency and fluency in the passing, the players will find it difficult to unlock defences that are happy to sit back, which is the norm when the Gunners are playing at home. Opponents have also found it extremely easy to stop Arsenal from playing by shackling Cazorla.
To compound the problem, Arsenal, masters at possession, have not really kept the ball well; panicking too much when put under pressure, and looking at the backward pass more than trying to find the advanced player.
West Brom, after their flying start, have suffered two straight defeats. So the Baggies, who have no major injury worries with just Ben Foster missing, will be just as desperate to pick up a positive result against the Gunners.
However, Arsenal need to show the ruthlessness, that is the hallmark of all great teams, on Saturday. Enjoy the game a little bit more, ease the pressure with an early goal and then go for the kill rather than sitting back and resting on the lead.
The Gunners, however, have some serious injury worries with Walcott, Podolski, Bacary Sagna and Laurent Koscielny all missing, along with Andre Santos and Abou Diaby.
The return of Tomas Rosicky, who looked good in the Champions League game against Olympiakos, will, be a big boost, while Wenger will be hoping for a little bit more quality from the likes of Gervinho, Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Expected lineups: Arsenal: Szczesny; Gibbs, Vermaelen, Mertesacker, Jenkinson; Arteta, Wilshere, Cazorla; Gervinho, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Giroud.
West Brom: Myhill; Reid, McAuley, Olsson, Popov; Yacob, Mulumbu; Morrison, Gera, Odemwingie; Long.
Prediction: 4-1 to Arsenal
